Chimera is the world’s first commercially-developed turbine-based combined cycle engine. At low speeds, Chimera is in turbine mode – just like any jet aircraft. At higher speeds, Chimera bypasses the incoming air around the turbine and the ramjet takes over completely.
Most hypersonic platforms are powered by a rocket engine – which limits operability, maintainability, and reliability.
By making an air-breathing hypersonic engine that does not require a rocket to accelerate, we’re setting the stage for operational hypersonic flight – meaning aircraft that can be rapidly turned around like modern planes today.
PART turbine, PART RAMJET
No Clean-Sheet Turbine Development Needed
Chimera utilizes readily available off-the-shelf gas turbine engines – saving Hermeus billions of dollars' worth of development and years of schedule.
Hypersonic Milestone
In November 2022, Hermeus demonstrated turbojet to ramjet transition within Chimera. This is one of the most important technological challenges enabling operational hypersonic flight.
